Literacy

Literacy Vision

At Mitchell Brook, we strive to embed a life-long love of language and communication by learning about literacy skills through the use of quality children's texts, books and topics that inspire and excite young readers and writers."

Literacy Aims

For our children to become confident life-long readers, who love the world of books

For our children to be able to communicate meaning through the spoken and written word with confidence

For our children to enjoy writing and become writers for life

For our children to be proud of their writing in all areas of the curriculum

For our library to be used properly by all children

How we teach Reading at Mitchell Brook...

At Mitchell Brook, we have a strong belief that it is not only our duty to provide the provision for the teaching of Reading but we ensure that children develop a love of reading. Encouraging children to read for pleasure supports them being a ‘lifelong learner’ and this vision is at the forefront of our approach.

In Key Stage 1, children take part in daily Guided Reading sessions which are carried out in small groups, often lead by adults or can include independent activities. Our main focus is to ensure that children are developing their comprehension and decoding skills during their reading sessions. Using the Milestone assessment system teachers are able to scaffold the children in their learning by stretching their depth of understanding within a text.

In Key Stage 2, children take part in daily Destination Reader lessons. This is an approach to teaching reading in which involves daily sessions incorporating whole class modelling prior to the children applying these skills through partner work and independent reading. Children deepen their understanding of the texts they read through the systematic use of a series of strategies and language stems. The approach encompasses the key principles of effective reading provision and fully meets the requirements of the National Curriculum. It also builds a culture of reading for pleasure and purpose.

Children are able to access the school library on a daily basis, allowing their imaginations to run free. As well as the quality core texts read in class, the children have access to a wide range of interests and experiences through books.

Every child visits the school library once a week with their class to ensure an opportunity to read for pleasure from any of the wide variety of texts we have on offer. This is also a chance for children to borrow a book which they can take home to read and enjoy with their families.

Recommended Reading Lists

Parents/Carers often ask what books they should read with their children at home. Whilst there are no ‘rules’ as to what you should read, below are recommended reading lists for each year group, why not print the list and challenge yourself to read them all!

The most important thing to remember is enjoy and have fun while you read together.

How we teach Phonics at Mitchell Brook...

We recognise that a systematic approach to teaching sounds plays an important part in developing fluent readers.

Throughout the Early Years and Key Stage 1, children are taught phonics on a daily basis. We use the Monster Phonics Programme which is based upon the ‘Letters and Sounds’ approach and this provides a detailed and systematic programme for teaching phonic skills starting with initial sounds, blending and segmenting. It also introduces children to ‘tricky’ words or words that cannot be decoded by breaking it down. The children are taught that these tricky words sometimes have to be learned by sight. Each of the vowel sounds has a character that helps children.

Monster Phonics Programme has a clear philosophy:

Colour-coded to support memory and facilitate understanding

Monster sound cues and actions to support memory and increase engagement

Rapid teaching of graphemes, grammatical rules HFW and CEW to improve reading fluency and access to the curriculum in all areas

At Mitchell Brook we understand that developing phonetic knowledge is only one skill to becoming a confident and competent reader. Starting in Nursery, children are encouraged demonstrate an understanding when talking with others about what they have either listened to or read. Teachers consistently model a range of reading strategies which support children to read with fluency and a depth of understanding.

To access a selection of free phonics resources from the Monster Phonics website or see how the scheme progresses, please click on the links below.